Born in Blood

466 Canvas

Swinging, stabbing and cutting with Liam's Black Blade a couple of times, the old man heaved a long sigh.

It was clear that he wasn't a swordsman.

He didn't even seem like a fighter of any kind.

"It's simple, really. You've added nothing to this weapon. Nothing at all! It has no individuality. It's just a sword that you swing left to right, up to bottom."

Liam pursed his lips, as though he was thinking deeply.

"Now, correct me if I'm wrong," Liam said, "but last I heard that's exactly what a sword is."

"Ha!" the old man laughed. "You lack creativity, son."

A moment later, the man's expression grew heavy and serious.

"A sword is what you want it to be. You could be the sword itself! If your two hands can change one shape into another, what stops you from changing the idea itself?"

There was a moment of silence.

Liam didn't even know the old man's name yet.

And yet, there was something about his words that held weight. Importance and wisdom.

In short, he was asking Liam to redefine what a sword really was. Not just confine himself to what the norms were.

…Didn't Liam already do that with himself? He distanced himself entirely from humanity, and all its behaviors.

Beneath those sharp, golden eyes were nothing but vile disgust, cruel sadism, unending greed, bottomless hunger, merciless violence and pure bloodlust.

Among other things, of course.

What stopped him from doing the same for his swords?

Sword Connection already altered their personalities, but their base functions were the same as normal.

That had to change.

Liam would have to make them unique!

However, Liam had already done that with the Breaker Blade.

Perhaps no other sword could do what the Breaker could.

It flowed through his shadows, which not too man

"What's your name," the old man said. "Mine's Kamjin, or the Iron Hammer, if you were gonna ask at all."

"I wasn't," Liam responded, causing the old man to laugh at his joke, only to realize that he was serious. "Liam Royce."

Liam didn't recognize the man's features.

He was probably from a smaller, less known country that lacked a powerhouse.

"Oh…" Kamjin raised his brows in surprise. "I've heard about you. To think you were a forgemaster all this time."

The man didn't seem uncomfortable around Liam.

Nor did he have any scorn or admonishment in his eyes when knowing who Liam was, or what he did.

'Not as annoying as I thought,' Liam thought.

A second later, Liam took out one of his Dusk Blades and the Breaker.

As soon as Kamjin saw them, his eyes widened with interest, and he gestured for Liam to give him the weapons.

Liam gave them to him.

Why not?

It was a free assessment from an experienced Forgemaster.

But a second later, his eyes scrutinized the weapons deeply.

A few minutes passed as the gruff old man analyzed the weapons.

"Same issue," Kamjin said at the end of it. "You've designed these with different purposes. But at their core, they are the same."

He gestured at the Dusk Blades. "This is meant for ripping and tearing. Pure savagery, basically."

He gestured at the Breaker. "This is meant for breaking and crushing. Brute force."

"So, the first sword is the most lethal. The second causes the most pain. And the third is the strongest."

The man shrugged. "You're painting a black canvas with different shades of gray."

"Color exists, you know."

Liam wanted to spit on the blacksmith's face for just a second.

His words weren't even that insulting, but he spoke as though Liam's greatest effort was… mediocre.

"The only thing I'd call slightly more unique than the rest is this titanic sword. You've added something to it, but I can't tell what."

"It can flow beneath the shadows," Liam said. "And phase through walls."

Kamjin's eyes widened. "There you go! That's more like it. Why don't the other two swords have functions like that? You're a neglectful person, Liam Royce."

"Yeah, yeah," Liam said dismissively. "I've shown you mine, show me yours."

Kamjin scoffed proudly.

WHOOM!

A wooden sword appeared in Kamjin's hands.

Liam was taken aback.

It was… just a wooden sword.

Like a regular bokken used for sword practice.

It was clean, but the shape was a little uneven.

It wasn't even sharp!

Despite that, there was something off about the weapon that Liam didn't understand.

It was dangerous.

"This," Kamjin said with a broad smile, "is a sword of its own. Incomparable to others."

"Mhm. Now explain what it does," Liam said impatiently.

Kamjin sighed. "Follow me to the testing range."

Kamjin started moving, and Liam followed.

'I'm still being followed,' Liam thought. 'They're a dedicated one.'

Both of them arrived at a controlled area with hundreds of wooden target dummies stationed apart from one another.

Liam instantly felt some of his powers returning to him.

For one, his physical strength and his sword techniques.

Here and there, groups of people were testing their weapons on the dummies.

And no matter how viciously they slashed them apart, they couldn't break the humanoid target dummies.

They were obviously inscribed.

'They suck,' Liam thought as he assessed their sword techniques.

Eventually, Liam and Kamjin arrived at a free target dummy.

Groups of people paid particular attention towards them.

"You go first," Kamjin said. "I want to embarrass you in front of the others."

Liam glared at him. "You know I'm not a Zenith right? Your weapon is Rank 5 item, isn't it?"

"This place is special," Kamjin countered. "It puts all the weapons under one level. All that matters is how they're made and the techniques you use."

Silence.

Liam didn't know that.

But okay.

Why not?

"Fine," Liam answered, lightly gripping his odachi and bending his knees.

SHING!

A black streak made a wide arc around the wooden dummy's head.

Liam reappeared behind it.

And slowly…

The head rolled off.

A few seconds later, the severed head wobbled, then an invisible force pulled it back to its head.

There were a few gasps.